Come Back to Me
by Mila Gray
Publisher – Pan Macmillan
Release Date – 19th June 2014
Buy – Amazon | Book DepositoryHome on leave in sunny California, Marine and local lothario Kit Ryan finds himself dangerously drawn to his best friend’s sister, Jessa – the one girl he can’t have.
But Kit’s not about to let a few obstacles stand in his way and soon Jessa’s falling for his irresistible charms.
What starts out as a summer romance of secret hook-ups and magical first times quickly develops into a passionate love affair that turns both their worlds upside down.
When summer’s over and it’s time for Kit to redeploy, neither Kit nor Jessa are ready to say goodbye. Jessa’s finally following her dreams and Kit’s discovered there’s someone he’d sacrifice everything for.
Jessa’s prepared to wait for Kit no matter what. But when something more than distance and time rips them apart they’re forced to decide whether what they have is really worth fighting for.
A breathtaking, scorchingly hot story about love, friendship, family and finding your way back from the edge of heartbreak.
You hear about that the New Adult genre all have similar plotlines and character personas, which in hindsight is certainly not untrue. But sometimes going back to what you know and what you like isn’t a bad thing either and that it the problem with certain genres such as contemporaries and new adult titles. However, Gray presents this in a totally refreshing nature.
“Does he make you see stars?’ he asks in a low voice. ‘Does he call you his north star? Because that’s what you are to me. You’re the reason I made it home.”
Gray begins her novel on a very crucial and emotional twist in the plotline, leaving you kind of up in the air… but soon goes back to the moment where everything all began… Under the household of soldiers, Jessa has always kept her head and eyes down. Her father presenting a problem for her family, has a tendency to lash out at any given time. After he was relieved from duty he became almost, locked in in himself, making Jessa’s life controlled by his demands. When Jessa’s brother and his best friend Kit, arrives back from a tour in Afghanistan for the summer, hidden fires between Kit and Jessa explode! Jessa has had a crush on him for years, but dating a marine like Kit would certainly make living at home unbearable. As much as she loves her family, she just want to face her father and let her rule her own life for once and Kit shows her how to live it to the fullest.
Now Kit… if you saw my last post you will definitely know what I mean. Kit is your very swoon-worthy soldier, hard on the outside yet kind-hearted and gentle on the inside. You will melt every time you see or read him, wonderful, le sigh! However, he could be irrational at times where he would strike first without thinking about the consequences later, or considering other peoples feelings. But for me throughout the book, he told me cared in what he believed in and not necessarily the things around him. Kit has grown up with his father, previously in the marines, his mother died a long time ago. What was a different twist to such a traditional sort of character as his is that he loves to cook. I believe his pastries are his forte, having a soldier built chief also leaves your day-dreaming.
“I’m going to inform her father from a separate state, maybe even from a separate continent. And I’ll still be sure to wear a bullet-proof best because that man has connections.”
Kit has always had eyes for Jessa, regardless of his reputation with girls when you hear it from her brother. But Kit sees the real her and can see the difficulty she lives with at home. Between them, Kit is your very sweet, down to earth and cute boyfriend. He is totally a romantic! Together, they are like gold, precious, rare and shining. Although they only have 6 weeks, their time is truly endless within the arms of each other.
Gray’s writing is faultless, between the alternate POVs which I enjoyed immensely, she is able to really capture the raw, emotional passion between all of the character relationships not just between the two MCs. Although there is a love-hate relationship between Jessa and her father, there also lies the humour between herself and her brother, clearly he is over-protective of his little especially when it comes Kit! The humour breaks up the tension and other pressures of the plot line.
Whilst suffering the highs and lows of marine life, this novel is bursting with uncontrollable passions and hot, steamy soldiers, it will make you continuously blush throughout the whole book. Under the pen name of Mila Gray, Sarah Alderson clearly knows how to weave plotlines, genres and characters at her own will, there is no denying that she has started into New Adult with high expectations.
Rating – 5
I'm so excited to read this one as I think Sarah Alderson is simply made to write New Adult. Even her YA titles felt like they'd be far stronger with older characters and contemporary opposed to paranormal settings, so I have a feeling this is about to become a new favorite of mine. So glad you enjoyed it, Emma! 🙂
I felt this was a lot stronger in terms of her writing and her character development. I connected with the characters on the same level as well. I'm looking forward to what you think of this one. Thanks Keertana! 🙂
I'm glad you loved this! While I didn't like it as much as you did, I do agree with what you wrote about Kit<3 I did fall for him as well (Sarah Alderson rocks at creating the most swoon-worthy characters!). Lovely review Emma <3
I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it as much. But at least Kit was a redeeming quality for the book. Thanks you, Shirley! 🙂
Wow, it's great that this book was portrayed in alternate povs which would have fleshed out the characters thoughts really well. It sounds like Kit was so sweet! I'm glad it presented the pov of a military family too. Great review Emma!
I haven't read alternate pov for a long time and it was certainly a refreshing change. And the persona and nature of the family was also very interesting and intriguing. I hope you get to read this one soon. Thank you, Jeann! 🙂
Hmmm, this sounds like a very interesting New Adult even for me that I'm not very much into contemporaries! I'm gonna be keeping an eye on this one!
Great review!
It really was! Contemporaries are my favourites so I do recommend it if you do read it. Thank you for stopping by, Pili! 🙂
I am so so glad to see you enjoyed this, Emma! 😀 I absolutely adored this book and I totally agree with what you said. Books in NA tend to be similar but at the same time, Gray/Alderson just makes it refreshing by writing it in her own way.
Plus she does have the most swoon-worthy boys 😛 If you haven't you really should get around to meeting Alex from the Lila series! 😀
Fantastic review, Emma!! 🙂
Rashika @ The Social Potato
They are aren't they!? I think that Gray's writing style really made this done a refreshing a unique NA I've read in a while. And yes she certainly does have a way with creating swoony boys! Don't worry, I've already ordered the first in the Lila series. Hehe! I'll look out for Alex. Thank you so much, Rashika! 🙂
"But sometimes going back to what you know and what you like isn't a bad thing either" YEEEES. That's very true. Everyone loves this one and it's such a joy to see that you did too, Emma! I think Kit and I will get along well, thank you 😉 I love me some second chance romances and rekindling stuff so cannot wait to read this gorgeous yet emotional tale. Gorgeous review, Emma!
Aw thanks for quoting me! It is true and I'm glad you agree! It's nice to stick to your roots occasionally! 🙂 I think you and Kit will definitely hit it off! Hehe! Hope you get to read this one soon. Thank you, Siiri! 😀
Oh now a NA book which is different? You give more of that! I'm really tired of same old stories and same old drama so something that sounds this refreshing seems really good. Not to mention Kit. Now girl you shouldn't mention that guy here as we'll going to steal him from you (I'd totally get along with him more than Siiri, right?). I'm so glad you enjoyed this one. Great review, Emma 🙂
Me too! Something different is always good, and this is a NA with a difference. Haha! Lol! Is it possibly to share him do you think? But I think we would all play a tug of war! Haha! Thank you, Tanja! 😀